Dallas Symphony Chorus

A national search process was initiated by Symphony leadership in the Fall of 2021, when Chorus Director Joshua Habermann announced his intention to step down after the 2021-22 season. The final rehearsals of the 2021-22 season, for which the Chorus was preparing performances of the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 "Choral," were led by the first of a number of potential director candidates, as were rehearsals and concert preparation opportunities throughout the 2022-23 season.

Christopher Aspaas serves as Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at TCU. Christopher received his Ph.D. in Choral Music Education at The Florida State University in Tallahassee, his M.M. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University in East Lansing, his B.M. in Voice Performance from St. Olaf. Christopher has served on the faculties of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington and Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

At TCU, Christopher leads the Concert Chorale, TCU’s flagship mixed ensemble as well as the FrogCorps, TCU’s premier male vocal ensemble. He also teaches coursework in basic conducting, choral conducting, choral literature, advanced choral conducting and oversees the graduate choral conducting program.

His travels as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator and lecturer have taken Christopher to Alabama, Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ontario, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and three times to the Sultanate of Oman. He has conducted All-State Choruses in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin as well as the British Columbia and Manitoba All-Province Honour Choirs. Additionally, Christopher led the All-Northwest Mixed Choir in 2015 and ACDA Southern Division Men’s Honor Choir in 2016. Most recently, Christopher travelled to South Korea to headline the 35th Annual International Symposium on Choral Music.

Christopher has produced more than forty arrangements and compositions for mixed, men’s and women’s choirs. His works are published by Augsburg Fortress, earthsongs, Hal Leonard, and Aspen Hill Music. His latest commission premiered at the 2017 National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

During the 2022-23 season, Dr. Aspaas prepared and rehearsed the Chorus leading up to various Classical concert weeks. His last rehearsal was in preparation of works by Orff - Carmina Burana & Catulli Carmina, which the Chorus performed in May 2023.

The 2021/22 season marked Joshua Habermann’s eleventh and final year as Chorus Director in the Jean D. Wilson Chorus Director Chair of the Dallas Symphony Chorus, having been appointed in Fall 2011. His last official rehearsal with the Chorus took place on Monday, April 18, 2022, as they prepared for a performance of the Beethoven Symphony No. 9, in May 2022. As of this posting, Habermann was also in his thirteenth season as Artistic Director of The Desert Chorale, a nationally-acclaimed professional chamber choir based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Prior to his DSO appointment, Habermann was assistant conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, where he prepared the chorus for performances with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. Highlights with the DSO include performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Verdi’s Requiem, Berlioz’ Damnation of Faust, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, and Britten’s War Requiem, which was performed for the ACDA national convention in 2013. Recent international collaborations include performances of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Duruflé’s Requiem with the Swedish Radio Orchestra, and tour performances in Spain, France, Sweden, Estonia and Finland.

As a singer (tenor) Habermann has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus (Eugene, Oregon), and Conspirare (Austin, Texas). Recording credits include three projects with Conspirare: Through the Green Fuse, Requiem, a Grammy nominee for best choral recording, and Threshold of Night, a Grammy nominee for best choral recording and best classical album.

Habermann has led honor choirs and choral festivals in North and Latin America, Europe and Asia. A passionate advocate for music education, Habermann has served on the faculties at San Francisco State University and the University of Miami, and worked with young singers and conductors in master classes and workshops throughout the United States and abroad. He also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Texas from 2011 to 2021.

A California native, Habermann is a graduate of Georgetown University and the University of Texas at Austin, where he completed doctoral studies in conducting with Craig Hella Johnson.

In a message to Chorus membership on September 18, 2009, Doug Adams, President of the Dallas Symphony Association, announced that Terry Price, Director of Music at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, had been named Interim Director of the Dallas Symphony Chorus, effective immediately. Mr. Price served in this interim capacity until the search committee for a new permanent Dallas Symphony Chorus Director completed its work.

Mr. Price has led choirs at the International Church Music Festival in Coventry, England; at the International Church Music Festival in Rome; the Cambridge Summer Music Festival in Cambridge, England; and the Christmas Eve Celebrations in Bethlehem, Israel. He has worked with many of the leading choral conductors, including Sir David Willcocks, John Rutter, Bob Chilcott, Tim Brown, Paul Leddington Wright and Andrew Carter.

A native of Stephenville, Texas, Mr. Price holds the Master of Sacred Music Degree from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Tarleton State University. Before starting his position at Preston Hollow Presbyterian in 1998, Terry served as Director of Music at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Lovers Lane United Methodist Church in Dallas, and Plymouth Park United Methodist Church in Irving. He was given the Choral Excellence award by the Texas Choral Directors association in 2006 and Texas Choirmaster award in 2015.

Mr. Price’s service to the Chorus as Director ad interim concluded with the concerts in Vail, CO with the DSO on July 8, 2010.

David R. Davidson passed away peacefully with family at his bedside on September 5, 2009, following a valiant, unwavering two-year battle with cancer.

While he will be greatly missed, David’s musical heritage and dedication to artistic excellence will live on in the lives and performances of the thousands of musicians he touched not just in Dallas, but all over the world.

A memorial service was held on September 10, 2009 in the Sanctuary of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas. Music was provided by members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus joining the HPUMC Chancel Choir conducted by DSO Music Director Jaap van Zweden and Ann Howard Jones of Boston University. HPUMC subsequently renamed it's annual Tower Arts Music Series, which David founded, in his name.

Dallas classical radio station WRR 101.1 dedicated the No. 1 recording on their 2009 Classical Countdown to Mr. Davidson - the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (recorded by the Chorus in 2004).

DSO Music Director Emeritus Andrew Litton:
“One of my first acts as Music Director of the Dallas Symphony turned out to be one of my best -- hiring David Davidson as Chorus Master. He transformed a good group of singers into a world class chorus -- one that brought glory to Dallas from the stages of Europe to Carnegie Hall. The collaborations I am proudest of during my Dallas years were the ones that involved the Chorus and David. His calm spirituality and focus were like a tonic to me, and I have never felt more support from any colleague. David's genius at achieving choral colors was unsurpassed and one of the great moments of my life was when I brought him to Bergen, Norway just this past November to prepare the Bergen Chorus for the Verdi Requiem I was conducting. By ten minutes into the first rehearsal, he had magically transformed that chorus from provincial to glorious! I had never heard such beauty before, and as tears streamed down my face, I felt such pride. Pride that I could share the talent of my friend David with 150 strangers, and that they were instantly touched by his greatness. I cannot imagine the scope of what David's loss will mean to Dallas, because I am much too consumed with what it means to me. I have lost a close friend. We used to joke about being "brothers from another mother," because even though we outwardly seemed like opposites, we were the only ones who knew how similar we were. We made each other better, and there are too few people in life that can do that for each other.”

Maestro Claus Peter Flor:
“About a colleague, for a master, to a friend! A conductor who wished to be working with David Davidson had to fulfill three unspoken conditions: absolute knowledge of choir music and anything that was necessary to achieve a faithful interpretation; knowledge of the beauty of the human voice, and how difficult it is to constantly renew that beauty; utmost confidence in his, David's, work in preparing the choir from the first rehearsal up to the actual concerts. If David felt he could entrust/lend "his choir" to a conductor, this "guest conductor" invariably met with success. David never offered, and certainly never imposed, his assistance to a conductor right away – he always waited for that conductor to show his willingness to appreciate David's great experience and profound humanity. For those who were able to win his friendship it was a wonderful gift. I was lucky to be among those to earn his friendship. It is a gift I will carry with me for the rest of my days ... and so Johannes Brahms' German Requiem once again impresses upon us its great and eternal significance: Great grief has befallen us in these days – and for many of us it is a very personal and private grief – but even with tears in our eyes we should, with great happiness, whisper to each other: it was a privilege to have known and accompanied him on his earthly journey, with his singing and his music making. Rise all, and bow with deepest gratitude.”

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David R. Davidson was appointed the Interim Director of the Dallas Symphony Chorus in January, 1993 before being appointed the fifth Director of the Dallas Symphony Chorus on December 1, 1994. (The Dallas Morning News stated that the Dallas Symphony Chorus in recent years has become one of the hallmark musical organizations of Dallas.) David R. Davidson became Director of Music and Arts at Highland Park United Methodist Church on November 1, 2003. He was an adjunct instructor of choral conducting and handbells at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Davidson served as Director of Music at Highland Park Presbyterian Church from 1985 – 2003. He was the visiting instructor of “Survey of Choral Literature” and “Choral Masterworks” at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Davidson was chosen to be a Masterclass Conductor at the eighth International Choral Conductor’s Seminar in Brugge, Belgium, where he studied with Laszlo Heltay. He also studied with Robert Shaw, Dr. Lara Hoggard, and Sir David Willcocks in addition to graduate work in choral conducting at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music for which a scholarship was established in David's name.

Davidson prepared the Dallas Symphony Chorus for performances with an international host of conductors, including Pinchas Zukerman, Eduardo Mata, Andrew Litton, Kazimierez Kord, Robert Shaw, Richard Hickox, Claus Peter Flor, John Nelson, Zubin Mehta, Gunther Herbig, Eve Queller and Kate Tamarkin. The Dallas Symphony Chorus released their first Christmas recording A Feast of Carols in December 1994. Andrew Litton, then Music Director of the Dallas Symphony, and David Davidson collaborated to record a Christmas CD of the Dallas Symphony and Chorus for Delos International titled A Dallas Christmas Gala as well as a 2004 live recording of the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 conducted by Claus Peter Flor. Mr. Davidson prepared the chorus to perform with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in July 1996 with Zubin Mehta conducting six performances of the Mahler Symphony No. 8. Mr. Davidson also prepared the DSC for four one-night-only performances with the Opera Orchestra of New York. The New York Times praised the chorus in all four performances as well as their performance of Walton's Belshazzar’s Feast with the Dallas Symphony, all at Carnegie Hall. Davidson prepared the chorus for a subsequent series of performances and recording of the Mahler Symphony No. 8 under the direction of Andrew Litton in May 2000. Preparation for other recordings include Porgy and Bess on Dorian, and the Moscow Cantata and 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky on the Delos label, released in 1996.

Davidson conducted the chorus and orchestras during the DSC’s 2003 European tour which included the Stefansdom in Vienna, Smetena Hall in Prague, Ottobeuren Abbey, and the Liszt Conservatoire in Budapest. These performances were before packed audiences and received great acclaim from reviewers in each of those cities. The Dallas Symphony Chorus conducted by David R. Davidson performed with acclaim as a headliner ensemble for the 2001 National American Choral Directors Association Convention in San Antonio. The DSC also performed for the Texas Choral Directors Association. Mr. Davidson conducted the Highland Park Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir in performances for the American Choral Directors National Convention in Louisville, the Texas Choral Directors Association Convention, the 1994 American Guild of Organists National Convention, and as the featured choir for the 1990 International Church Music Festival in Coventry, England. 

Mr. Davidson made his conducting debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in December 1996, stepping in at the last minute to conduct the final four Christmas Celebration Concerts when the conductor became ill. He then went on to conduct with acclaim the 1997-2008 Dallas Symphony Christmas Celebration concerts that included a live TV telecast as well as making his debut on the 1999 DSO Classical Subscription Series conducting four performance of Handel's Messiah. When stepping in for Andrew Litton to conduct the Fauré Requiem in May 2005, Scott Cantrell’s headline began with "….Davidson expertly steps in." Davidson made his Carnegie Hall debut in June 1998 conducting the Texas Festival Chorus and the Inter School Orchestra in a performance of the Mozart Requiem.

A nationally recognized church music and choral clinician throughout the United States, Mr. Davidson chaired the Worship and Choral Music R & S Committee for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) as well as served as Vice-President of Church and Community Choirs for the Texas Choral Directors Association.

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In 2011, Mr. Davidson was added posthumously to the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) “Wall of Honor” and his entry can be viewed on this 2011 YouTube video at the 3:04 mark.

Jacob Augsten, a native of Griffin, Georgia, is a conductor, teacher, and singer dedicated to building community through collaborative choral artistry. He completed his final year of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of North Texas, where studied under Dr. Allen Hightower, Dr. Jessica Nápoles, Dr. Marques Garrett, and Dr. Kristina MacMullen. In 2023 at UNT, Augsten conducted the UNT Chorale and taught Fundamentals of Conducting. He has also taught Music Fundamentals and has served as conducting associate for UNT’s University Singers, Concert Choir, Kalandra, and Vox Aquilae, UNT’s flagship early music ensemble. Augsten also served as Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Denton and was introduced in August 2023 as the next Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Chorus. He served in that capacity through the 2023-24 Season.

In addition to teaching choir in the public schools of the Metro Atlanta area for three years, Augsten was the assistant conductor of the Perimeter College Chorale in 2019 and 2020, and he has conducted performances with the Georgia State University Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Men’s Ensemble, the choir and orchestra at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and the Atlanta Chamber Choir.

An active professional singer, Augsten regularly appears with DFW-based ensembles such as Orpheus Chamber Singers, Incarnatus, and Highland Park Chorale, and has previously appeared with Georgia-based ensembles Atlanta Master Chorale and Atlanta Opera Chorus. Augsten has recently performed the solos in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Bach cantatas 36 and 49, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, Schubert’s Mass No. 5, Handel’s Messiah and Utrecht Te Deum, and Michael John Trotta’s Seven Last Words, and he has recently performed roles in Bach’s Matthäus-Passion in Dallas and Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Atlanta Opera.

Augsten holds the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Georgia State University, where he studied conducting under Dr. Deanna Joseph and Dr. Jennifer Sengin, and the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Clayton State University, where he was the winner of the Cheryl Boyd-Waddel Award, the Robert O. Allen Music Prize, and the Alma Lily Farfan-Northway Music Scholarship.

In May, 2024, Dr. Augsten accepted an offer to become the next Director of Choral Activities at Reinhardt University in Waleska, GA.

A native of Duluth, MN, William (Will) McLean is a music educator and conductor in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Currently, he is a DMA student in choral conducting at the University of North Texas where he studies with Dr’s Allen Hightower, Kristina MacMullen, and Jessica Nápoles. At UNT McLean has served as the conductor of the UNT Chorale and currently teaches undergraduate conducting. In addition to his responsibilities at UNT, McLean served as the Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Chorus for the 2022-23 season and served on the faculty at the University of Texas at Arlington as the conductor of the A Cappella Choir in Fall 2022. Before his graduate studies, McLean most recently was the Director of Choirs at South Salem High School in Oregon. While at South Salem, the Symphonic Choir (SATB) was invited to perform at the 2019 National ACDA Convention in Kansas City, MO. Additionally, choirs at South Salem during his tenure received invitations to perform at the OMEA state music education conference and toured nationally.
 
McLean has presented sessions at national, regional, and state ACDA, NAfME conferences, and the International Symposium for Research in Choral Singing. Topics of these presentations have included state and national choral programming trends, singer agency in choral environments, and pedagogical repertoire selection A fierce advocate for the creation of new music, McLean has collaborated with numerous composers in the commissioning of new choral works, including the likes of Mari Esabel Valverde, Paul John Rudoi, and Joshua Rist. As a proponent for furthering and advocating for choral music, McLean has served on the OMEA Executive Board as the Choral Chair and on the board of Oregon ACDA. 

He holds a master’s degree in conducting from Baylor University where he graduated with departmental distinction and a bachelor’s degree in music education from St. Olaf College. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, running, hiking, and spending time with his wife Jenna, and their dog Hildy.

In May 2023, Dr. McLean was named to the choral faculty at Baylor University, his alma mater.

Originally from Clover, South Carolina, Jordan D. Boyd is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at the University of North Texas. Before coming to UNT, he served as the Director of Choral Activities at the Berkeley Center for the Arts at Goose Creek High School where he conducted the Varsity Voices, Treble Choir, and the award-winning Goose Creek Chamber Choir. He also taught music theory (including AP), music history, and music-directed annual musicals. Choirs under his direction have been praised for their “incredible precision and musicianship” and lauded as “ambassadors of technique for high school singers." During his tenure, the Goose Creek Chamber Choir presented performances at the annual conferences of the South Carolina American Choral Directors Association (SCACDA), the South Carolina Music Educators Association (SCMEA), and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

From 2015-2018 Boyd served as the Associate Music Director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus where he prepared the CSO Chamber Singers for annual performances of Handel’s The Messiah. From 2015-2020 he held the positions of Associate Conductor and Principal Bass for the Taylor Festival Choir, a professional chamber choir based in Charleston, SC. From 2018-2020, he was the Coordinator of the Lowcountry Region Choir for SCMEA and the Treble Choirs Chair for SCACDA. On May 25 2020, Jordan was introduced and welcomed as the next Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Chorus. Jordan then assisted in expertly shepherding the Chorus through the difficult Covid-19 pandemic period, where the only contact for many months was via the online Zoom platform, along with a number of helpful instructional Youtube videos that helped to keep members engaged.

Boyd holds a Bachelor's in Vocal Performance and Music Theory/Composition from the College of Charleston and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

In May 2022, Jordan successfully completed his doctoral work at the University of North Texas. It was announced that Dr. Boyd had been nominated as a Finalist in the American Prize Dale Warland Award in Choral Conducting and he subsequently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Choral Music at the University of Texas - San Antonio.

Charlotte Botha is an enthusiastic conductor, composer, ensemble singer and music teacher. She believes that choral music embraces difference and teaches us tolerance. Originally from Klerksdorp, South Africa, she embarked on an ambitious career as a pianist, percussionist, chorister and vocal soloist from the age of 6. She has had the privilege of singing under and learning from inspiring conductors and voice pedagogues from around the world.

During her BMus (University of Pretoria, 2009) and MMus (Nelson Mandela University, 2014) she specialised in choral conducting with Johann van der Sandt, Junita Lamprecht-Van Dijk and Peter-Louis van Dijk as her mentors. As conductor of many well-known choirs, such as Pretoria High School for Girls Choir, Singkronies Chamber Choir, the Drakensberg Boys Choir, and the UNT Women’s Chorus, Charlotte cultivated a passion for group vocal technique. Charlotte attends choral conducting master classes as often as possible, and regularly presents workshops that promote the development of aural training skills through choral singing. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting Performance and Music Theory at the University of North Texas under the mentorship of Allen Hightower, Richard Sparks and Kristina MacMullen in May 2020. While at UNT, she was the choral librarian, and was selected in the Spring 2019 to serve as Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Chorus under Joshua Habermann. Her interests include badminton, foreign cuisine, the study of phonetics and learning new languages.

In May 2020, Dr. Botha moved to upstate New York, where she was appointed to be the next Director of Choral Activities at Hamilton College in July 2020.

Dwight Jilek was selected to be the Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Chorus in the Fall 2013. He completed doctoral studies in Choral Conducting at the University of North Texas in May 2016 and also served as the conductor of the UNT Concert Choir. In 2015, Dwight took over as Chorus Administrator in addition to his duties as Conducting Associate of the Chorus. With over ten years of church music experience, Dwight also served as the Traditional Choir and Adult Handbell Choir director at St. Andrew Catholic Parish in Fort Worth.

Prior to coming to Dallas, Dwight completed his Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting at Michigan State University, where he was the graduate assistant to the Men’s Glee Club and State Singers under Dr. Jonathan Reed, and the Chorus Master for the Opera Theatre Program. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Music Education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he studied conducting with Dr. René Clausen and was Assistant Conductor for the Concordia Choir.

Dwight was vocal music director for six years (2005-2011) in Minnesota at Northfield High School where he oversaw five curricular and four extracurricular choirs, along with the curricular vocal lesson program. Under his direction, the Northfield Concert Choir was accepted by audition to perform in the inaugural Minnesota ACDA Choral Arts Finale (2006), the Dorian Choral Invitational (2007), the Minnesota State ACDA Convention (2007), the Minnesota MEA convention (2008), and was a featured choir at the St. Olaf Choral Festival (2009).

Following his graduation from UNT in May 2016, Dr. Jilek accepted a position as Director of Choral Activities at Bemidji State University in Minnesota, where he moved in July 2016 with his wife, Alyssa, and three children.

When Josh Habermann was named Chorus Director in 2010, he initiated a process that would identify and cultivate new choral conducting talent, and the result was the creation of the Assistant Conductor position with the Dallas Symphony Chorus. Students who are in the graduate choral conducting programs at area colleges and universities are eligible and invited to interview/audition for the position.

J.D. Burnett was selected to be the first official Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and he filled the position with the Chorus from Fall 2011 until he completed and earned his doctorate in choral conducting at the University of North Texas in Spring 2013.

In addition, J.D. is the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Kinnara Ensemble, a chamber choir of professional singers in New Jersey. With Kinnara, he performs several concert repertoires a year in the greater NY and Philadelphia areas.

Formerly, he served on the music staff of the New Jersey Youth Chorus, was Associate Conductor of the Masterwork Chorus of New Jersey, and was Acting Director of Choral Activities at Montclair State University.

Prior to these appointments, he served as Interim Director of Choral Activities at San Jose State University, was Artistic Director of the New Jersey Chamber Singers, was Music Director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus, founded Men’s Consort Houston, and was a member of the choral music faculty at Kingwood High School in suburban Houston.

Burnett did undergraduate study at Stanford University and Oklahoma State University. He holds a Masters Degree in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College, where he sang in the Westminster Symphonic Choir and Westminster Kantorei, and served as Assistant Conductor of the renowned Westminster Choir.

As a professional choral singer, Burnett has performed seasons, concerts, and recordings with the Stillwater Chamber Singers, Cantare Houston, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale, The Robert Shaw Festival Singers, Fuma Sacra, the Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, and Conspirare.

In May 2013, Dr. Burnett was named associate director of choral activities at the University of Georgia.